HP India is in discussions with VVDN Technologies and Dixon Technologies regarding the local assembly of its laptops in the country. HP India, the Indian branch of the American laptop manufacturer, is among the 27 companies qualified for the PLI scheme 2.0 for IT hardware, which has earmarked incentives worth Rs 17,000 crore.
Despite already possessing its own assembly plant and a partnership with US-based Flex for laptop assembly, HP India is reportedly exploring assembly-only agreements with Dixon, led by Sunil Vachani, and VVDN. Both Dixon and VVDN are eligible for production-linked incentives. This potential arrangement would involve HP India supplying all the necessary components for manufacturing, a process commonly referred to as jobwork, as per insider sources.
Both VVDN Technologies and Dixon Technologies are already collaborating with chipmaker Intel, which provides them with key technological insights to establish a robust laptop manufacturing industry in India. Other collaborators with Intel include Kaynes Technology, Syrma SGS, and Optimeius. VVDN has already partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to assemble servers for the US company at its Manesar plant in Haryana. The factory is expected to produce high-end servers valued at $1 billion over the next five years.
Dixon, a prominent player in India's homegrown electronics manufacturing services (EMS) sector, secured a contract in December 2023 to assemble laptops and notebooks for Lenovo within the country. Additionally, it handles the assembly of Motorola feature phones for HMD India, the brand owner. In 2021, Dixon initiated a collaboration to assemble Acer laptops in India. To fulfill the demands of these partnerships, Dixon is investing Rs 250 crore to establish a facility in Noida, capable of manufacturing 1 million laptops annually. The plant's commencement is anticipated in the near future.
According to IDC Research, HP India maintains its position as the largest PC player across all segments in India, boasting a market share of 31.5 percent in 2023. Following HP is Lenovo at 16.7 percent, Dell at 15.5 percent, and Acer at 12.3 percent. In the laptop segment specifically, HP leads with a 33.2 percent share, trailed by Dell at 23.1 percent and Lenovo at 14.7 percent, as reported by Statista. Counterpoint Research notes that the Indian laptop market, valued at nearly $8 billion in 2023, saw 65 percent of its units imported. To address this reliance on imports and foster domestic manufacturing, the revamped PLI scheme aims to make significant strides.